Though it is almost forgotten today, History is Made at Night is one of the most beautiful and romantic films ever to grace a movie screen. Not made by one of the major studios and released through United Artists in 1937, this gemstone has a fine screenplay from Gene Towne and Graham Baker, and some lovely words of dialog from Vincent Lawrence and David Hertz. A young and luminous Jean Arthur and the continental Charles Boyer utter those words in tremendously engaging performances. Director Frank Borzage, responsible for some of the loveliest films from both the silent and sound era, and perhaps the greatest romanticist the medium has ever produced, helms this one, charting a coarse to tender romance. It is a story of two people who try to cram a lifetime of memories into one night, and then one moment, when tragedy looms on the horizon in the form of an iceberg.

Jean Arthur is Irene Vail, the wife of a cold and unhappy shipping magnate who is holding on tight, his jealousy finally driving her to divorce. Colin Clive portrays her bitter and obsessed husband Bruce, who hatches a plan in Paris to catch her in a compromising position before the divorce decree can become final. But Bruce's plan goes awry and their history will never be the same. Charles Boyer is Paul Dumond, headwaiter at Chateau Bleu, and Leo Carillo is his very funny chef pal, Cesare. Paul charades as a jewel thief to rescue Irene and whisks her away in the moonlight in one of many great scenes in a film filled with memorable ones. Unaware Paul is only a waiter at Chateau Bleu, she and Paul spend a charming and poignant night falling in love. Carillo is warm and funny as Paul's pal for life who watches the silly American girl from Kansas discover a happiness she has never known. Seeking to protect Paul from a murder charge concocted by Bruce, Irene sacrifices her own happiness to keep Paul safe.

The friendship of Paul and Cesare adds a charming humor to the story. They scheme to open a restaurant in New York and hold a table for her, hoping Irene will show. But when she does, she is not alone. Genuine love overcomes misunderstanding regarding his lowly position in life but a dark cloud hangs over their happiness as an innocent man is set for a date with the gallows. Booking passage on her husband's newest ocean liner, the S.S. Irene, they head towards France to make things right. As the two lovers head towards their destiny, Bruce fumes to discover the French papers are sympathetic to Irene's sacrifice and Paul's gallantry and dangerously orders the captain to break the transatlantic record in a deep fog and cold water, bringing about a tragedy reminiscent of the Titanic's fate. Borzage stages both the tragedy and the desperate plight of the lovers with tension and emotion. To say more would ruin the film's ending. It is beautiful and poignant, like the film itself. Perhaps no other director of his time could have pulled all the elements of this story together so well.

Jean Arthur is wonderful as the woman clinging to a happiness she has never known and Boyer had one of his finest moments in American film portraying the affable and charming Paul. Borzage sets a very special mood for this touching story of a love that sails with no wind and a full moon. Not just a great romantic film, but one of the great films period, History is Made at Night is a forgotten film from a forgotten director, and both deserve to be remembered. All those who love romance will certainly never forget either once they see this most beautiful of films for the first time. ( )